Some stores, warehouses, etc., such as grocery store chains, use carts, such as roll cages, to move product from one location to another, such as from a distribution center to the grocery store. The use of carts has reduced the waste material from pallets and plastic wrapping that typically surrounds the product delivered from the distribution center. The product is protected inside the cart and the cart may be returned to the distribution center for refilling when empty. A store chain may have as many as hundreds of thousands of the carts in its distribution network.
In the store, for example, an individual operator may have to push or pull a full cart a long distance from the back of the store to the front to restock shelves. Moving the full carts may cause repetitive strain injuries or other workplace injuries. Further, an individual operator may be able to move only one full cart and one or two empty carts at a time.
Some distribution centers or stores may use cart pulling or cart pushing devices, or movers, to transport carts. However, a distribution center or store may have several different types of carts and each cart may require a different type of hitch to couple the cart to a mover. Thus, a distribution center or store may require several movers, each dedicated to a specific type of cart.
In addition, in order to move multiple carts, an operator may use a length of chain to connect one cart to the next. However, the chain does not keep the carts from wandering from side to side or rolling forward and hitting the cart in front of it, nor do the chains provide for controlled turns. The cost of reworking individual carts to provide a common coupling method may be relatively expensive when many carts, up to as many as hundreds of thousands, could require modification. These factors may contribute to reduced efficiency and/or increased costs in the distribution center or store.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for improved apparatus, devices, and methods for coupling cart movers to wheeled carts and for coupling multiple wheeled carts together. Particularly, there is a need in the art for apparatus, devices, and methods for moving multiple carts and carts with different configurations and/or dimensions with increased efficiency and without causing workplace injuries.